After a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, Steve Mendelsohn,
W2ML, of Dumont, New Jersey, passed away May 23. He was 67. An ARRL
Life Member, Mendelsohn began his time with ARRL in 1983 when he was
elected as Vice Director of the Hudson Division. After two terms as
Vice Director, he was elected as Hudson Division Director in 1987.
In 1996, the ARRL Board of Directors elected Mendelsohn as its First
Vice President, where he served until 2000. The next year, he was
again elected as the Hudson Division Vice Director, serving through
2004.

Outside of his League activities, Mendelsohn was active both as the
Communications Director of the New York City Marathon and, along
with his wife Heidi, W2MLW, as the Game Day Frequency Coordinator
(GDC) for the New York Jets. The November 2007 issue of QST featured
Mendelsohn on its cover along with an article about him and the GDC
program. Mendelsohn was inducted into the CQ Hall of Fame last week
for his contributions to the ARRL, the New York City Marathon and
the National Football League.

Mendelsohn was a 30 year veteran of the US Navy, rising to the rank
of Senior Chief Petty Officer, with a Cryptologist rating. He
received two Navy Achievement Awards for creating an important
national security database for personal computers. While stationed
in Scotland in the late 1960s, Mendelsohn was GM5AHS. He was a
member of the North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) and was the
current President of the Bergen Amateur Radio Association (BARA). At
one point, Mendelsohn served as President of both organizations
simultaneously.

''Steve's passing is a great loss in the world of Amateur Radio,''
said ARRL Hudson Division Director Joyce Birmingham, KA2ANF. ''I will
always treasure the times I spent with Steve over the many years I
knew him. To me, and to all of Amateur Radio, he was a strong
leader, dedicated mentor and most importantly, a true friend to many
of us throughout the entire Amateur Radio community. Most recently,
as a courageous fighter, Steve battled pancreatic cancer, but still
continued to serve the ham community until the end and enjoyed many
hours on the air. Our prayers go out to his family and his beloved
Heidi. Rest now, my friend, you are at peace. We will miss you.''
'

'Steve brought a unique personality and perspective to the ARRL
Board,'' said ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN. ''Our thoughts are
with his family and friends at this time of loss.''

I knew Steve through my time as President of the Piscataway Amateur Radio Club and oddly enough, through this blog. Some of you may remember that I posted about him early on after his initial diagnosis. We had maintained some e-mail communications from time to time about Amateur Radio and other things.

Above all, he was a boon to the Ham community and a true, true gentleman. He will be sorely missed.